The New Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital is replacing all of its inpatient care facilities at an estimated cost of more than $700 million. The new hospital’s healing environment will feature natural light, increased green space and environmentally sensitive elements. Its award-winning architectural design will be both patient- and family-friendly and representative of the Spanish Colonial style for which our community is so well-known.

Why rebuild the hospital?

All hospitals in California must be rebuilt or renovated to be able to withstand a major earthquake. Although the state is requiring the work, it is providing no funding to help hospitals reach this deadline goal originally set for 2013.

The new SBCH will feature

•		337 spacious private rooms
•		increased privacy
•		numerous meditation areas and gardens, including a “River of Life” flowing through the central gardens
•		tripled capacity in the Level II Trauma Center/Emergency Department
•		air ambulance services
•		consolidated pediatric services in Cottage Children’s Hospital, including a Pediatric Multi-Specialty Clinic
•		larger, state-of-the-art operating suites, with minimally invasive and robotic surgical services
•		sophisticated imaging and other diagnostic technologies

Improvements in the new hospital include

•		The Emergency Department and its Level 2 Trauma Center will double in size. The current Emergency Department was designed to accommodate 25,000 visits a year. But in recent years, the number of ED visits has hovered around 38,000 a year.  The ED in the new hospital will be able to handle 80,000 visits a year.
•		All 337 patient beds will be in private rooms
•		Every patient room will have a family area with furniture that converts to beds to allow guests to stay overnight
•		A helipad for air ambulance transport of patients
•		Significant expansion of the Surgery Department, with room for new technologies such as robotic surgery to offer less invasive procedures and improved outcomes
•		Substantial investment in state-of-the-art technology, including imaging services and wireless technology
•		All children’s medical services will be consolidated on the third floor to create a hospital within the hospital -- Cottage Children’s Hospital
•		The design will focus on creating a healing environment, with more space for gardens, meditation areas, a spiritual center and even a “River of Life” flowing through the interior courtyard
•		Two new parking structures (already completed)

How will Cottage pay for the new hospital?

With no local, state or federal funding provided to meet new state-mandated seismic requirements, Cottage plans to cover the $700+ million  price through four sources:

•		Operating reserves
•		Tax-exempt bond issues (debt)
•		Current SBCH Foundation assets
•		The $100 million Campaign for Cottage Health System

How the community provided help

Cottage Health System embarked on an ambitious philanthropic campaign in 2004 to build a new, state-of-the-art Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. The goal was to raise $100 million in community support to help pay for the project.  When the five-year Campaign concluded on Dec. 31, 2008, a total of  $110,821,578 had been raised from the community. Get all the Campaign news here >>